Unwinding Reservations on Love
by acedia97
Summary: Lots of laughter (bit of angst) - A Marauders / Sirius Black x OC slow-burn fic. Beginning in their 5th year, follows the Marauders & some others through the trails & tribulations of their final years at Hogwarts, including all the hijinks pulled along the way; starting with the story of Lily's first prank, involving two very moody teenage boys turned a very lunimous shade of pink!
1. Chapter 1

"Fuck the system. Fuck everything. Fuck it."

1975 a particularly cold September

Lily was always pretty high strung underneath her calm exterior. Brain whizzing like an unhinged machine trying to catch up with itself in turbo-time, the mechanics of that life were steeped in unknowns and what-if's, like walls decked in needles and round corners are knives. It was due to her analytical nature, no doubt. There was just no way around it, mind just kept hammering on, and right now in the throes of revenge it only made more sense. She'd been sat for an hour now watching and listening and waiting. Salivating like a dog and grinning to herself as she acted out the plan in her mind.

Her friends however held not nearly the same amount of enthusiasm, barely paying attention to what was going on. Marlene was actually knuckle deep in her own nose, perched just behind the other girl, taking an advantage of her own from the secretive position lily had chosen. Lou on the other hand just seemed bored, she'd been walking around in circles kicking the grass and complaining since they'd got there, agitating lily to almost breaking point over getting caught, but was it really more important than going to hogsmede and enjoying her weekend like all the other students? She thought not, and that was enough to have her sulking and muttering for days.

Although lily was a "perfect" prefect, Lou knew she wouldn't actually deduct points no matter how many times she held it over them like some kind of uptight, anal, Lord; "You're gunna' be late for breakfast, get up or I'll start taking away points" were the words that had woken her every morning for two years now to be fair, so the threat had almost become a challenge in many ways, to see if she'd actually do it.

"Merlin, lily, it's been an hour now of you just bloody gawking, how much more of this are we going to have to suffer?" Lou had quickly glanced at her watch, something she regretted as soon as she did, crossing her arms and continuing to trudge a muddy dent into the grass while huffing out annoyed breaths with the little energy she had for the situation.

"Will you shut your mouth! It's only half past they'll be coming any minute how" the girl hissed back.

"You sure this'll work, lils?" Marlene said, mid yawn.

"That's a fair point, have you actually thought this through?"

"Of course I have! The potion was made perfectly and it's all set up exactly right, it's going to bloody work! Now will you get back, sit your arse down and shut up, please"

Lou rolled her eyes and grumbled before finally tumbling onto the ground, deciding instead to lie on her back and look up at the sky through the branches of the birch tree they were sat up against.

"Give it a rest would you, you're not a teacher y'know" she sighed

"Not yet" Marlene added, in a dry tone. "I am freezing my tits of though, my hands are like icicles"

"Yeah, that'll be the snot" Lou jabbed, earning a kick "Oi!"

"But seriously, lily, we've been out here for ages don't you think they'd of got here by now?"

"But they said yesterday, by the lake at two, you herd them! They must just be running late or something"

"Or maybe it's a sign" Lou said in fain dramatic tone, a half hearted impression of their divination teacher, Professor Stubbs.

"Oh shut up! Just because you play quidditch with them you think what they do is fine! Well I'm sorry but some of us actually want to stand up for what's right!" lily really had had enough by this point, her own voice finally raising from the hushed, angry whisper it had taken on for the past hour,

"I'm sorry, but since when is wanting to have a relaxing butterbeer instead of sitting about in the cold a crime? And it's not as if covering Potter in Pinkity Pandemonium is really the definition of 'justice' anyway, it wont stop them just like detention wouldn't, who even cares? Marls can we please go to the broomsticks now?"

Both girls made to stand, brushing he dirt off of themselves, "Sorry, Lils, gotta' bounce-" Marlene added, although she was quite happy to trade her current soroundings for the warm and welcoming Three Broomsticks before too much of the day had passed, but before they could begin their walk a familiar sounding bark of laughter cut through the air and hit their ears with a start.

"I told you! I told you!" Lily was practically singing to herself in a hushed tone while the voices came closer, dragging the other girls back down by their coats so all three of them would be hidden from sight .

Lou knew that laugh anywhere, it belonged to Sirius black, and she also knew that wherever he was James Potter was guaranteed to be nearby. She'd almost been hoping they'd not show up, actually scratch that, she'd definitely been hoping they wouldn't. Just to spite lily and her obsession with 'getting them back at their own game', even the fact that she'd let herself get dragged into the fiasco was a heavy-weighted regret, although in the beginning she'd simply been curious as to how it would actually be pulled off she should have known how it would go with lily's forte for meticulous planning and an over-the-top hatred for everything potter.

Lily was beside herself with excitement now, rubbing her mittened hands together like some criminal goblin about to finally get their hands on golden treasure. The boys, three figures they could see now, were clear as day and it was obvious that James potter was definitely among them.

"You look like a mad goblin, y'know that" Lou mused, giggling at her friend, but was met instantly with a harsh "shhhhhh!" And a strong look and so for lack of anything better to do she moved and peaked her head round the tree as Marlene was, looking over to where the boys were bounding ignorantly along the path towards them.

Sirius was still laughing, louder than the rest, him and james practically arm in arm with how close they were and having what seemed to be a greatly amusing and animated conversation. A shorter stouter frame was hurrying clumsily behind them, struggling to keep up.

"Come on wormy! Chop chop!" Lou even heard potter call back at him and rolled her eyes inwardly at how much of a ponce he could be. Honestly, maybe it wouldn't be so bad seeing him all turned pink. If they even pulled it off. They even had a transfiguration assessment on Monday he couldn't miss and there was no doubt the look on McGonagall's face would definitely be worth it.

"... but mate, mate listen they wouldn't even know we'd been there, there's no way, it'd be the perfect crime..." they were even close enough now that they could hear the conversation, meaning they must be nearly under the trap they'd set up.

"Ready?" Lily whispered gleefully to the other two girls beside her. Lou and Marlene looked at each other, after everything they had to admit they too were feeling the adrenaline of the plan now, but still nothing compared to lily practically dancing with excitement next to them.

Lou shrugged at her as if to say 'We might as well' and so Marlene turned and gave a curt nod, and so it was. The tree of them raised her wands carefully, looking up into the branches of the other tree just ahead and the cauldron balanced in them. Taking a deep breath to calm down.

All together the three of them quietly muttered the incantation they'd memorised, with Marlene following what lily had written on her hand earlier,

"You can be fiery in fuchsia,  
majestic in magenta,  
Or all round rosey  
In romantic rouge,

So forget all the humdrum,  
If looking disastrous and glum,  
We'll turn you all pretty,  
pinky, party, plum."

Once it was over they could see the surface of the cauldron bubbling a radiant pink, little sparkles of pink glitter already falling to the ground below, but the boys seemed too caught up in their own conversation to notice. Then it was up to lily herself, trying to stop herself from shaking with excitement, to finish the job.

"... Wingardium leviosa" with one tiny movement of her wand the potion hovered upwards and then came crashing down in perfect time, covering all but one of the three boys in the bright pink magical liquid.

While the girls gave away their position almost immediately with their howls of laughter, Sirius and James seemed to be in some kind of shock as to what had just occurred, while the third figure, their friend peter petittigrew was only just catching up to them and the cloud of sparkling pink in the air.

"W-Wuut happened to you?" The shorter boy finally said, dumbly pointing at the two. Sirius simply looked at him like he was a bloody idiot while the other victim next to him was wiping his glasses as to look in the direction of the rather loud culprits.

"Is- Is that Evans?" James finally asked, causing his best friend to spin on his heal and squint in the same direction, "it is, Sirius, it's Evans" he finished, dumbfounded. Stupidly the boys initial instinct was of course to mess up his hair, in the way he always did as if it made him look cool, but all that did was remind him of his current state.

Here he was, standing in front of the girl of his dreams, dyed head to toe bright pink.

He'd know the smell of the potion anywhere: in their 2nd year they'd used it in remus's plan to dye every slytherin's robes bring pink instead of green and again in their 4th in one of the more annoying defence against the dark arts teacher's shampoo bottles. Undoubtedly they'd used it more during their time as-well, it was always a good laugh, but never, ever ever, had such a prank ever been pulled on the marauders themselves.

"What the fuck!?" Sirius had his wand out on instinct the minute he knew something was wrong and was now pointing it ahead of him clutched in his radiantly rosy hued hand, while his best mate beside him had seized up from embarrassment; a new and unwanted feeling.

The, now pink haired, teenager fired the first hex he could think of right in the direction of the three girls. Instead of doing any damage however the spell simply hit the tree they'd been hiding behind, breaking off a branch.

"Oh don't be such a baby, black" came the voice of earlier named ginger, still clutching her stomach from the many laughs.

Sirius's nostrils practically doubled in size after that comment.

"Who knew the great Sirius black could pull off hot pink?" Was the next jab, coming from the girl he recognised as lousinda Montgomery, feeling the stab of embarrassment hit his ego.

The other two girls had burst into fits again, rolling around on the ground. He had to pull himself together,

"Fuck you!" This only made Lou laugh more, seeing him expressing what was only comparable to a toddler tantrum. Sirius black was usually a man of many words and witty wisdom but now all he could manage was collection of angry grunts and whines and jumbled swear words while he resorted to desperately trying to rub himself clean with the ends of his sleeves.

"How the hell do I get this off?!" He shouted, back at potter who just stared at him with fear in his eyes and grimaced.

"You seriously don't know? Ha ha!" Came the voice of lily Evans. All three girls were looking between the two teenage boys in utter disbelief, rolling their heads back in more laughter when they just seemed to gulp back in response.

"Well, serves you right after what you did to those first years! And for last week!" Lily had her hands on her hips and was now talking directly to potter who still stood some feet away opening and closing his mouth like a confused and frightened fish, not knowing what to say.

Lou had never seen either of them lost for words before, the sight was quite something. she was used to hearing the potter go on loudly for hours to no end about practically anything and having to endure it, anytime he was even in the same room you'd over hear him, arrogant as always. He was alright though really, she knew him well enough to get that and did feel a tiny pang of guilt seeing him so broken, but again that rather luminescent shade of pink really seemed to make up for it.

"Fuck! Mate, please at least tell me I'm not as pink as you are?" Sirius had given up now crying to remember how to fix it.

"I'd say you're both quite a nice even bubble gum colour, what'd you think?" Marlene responded, crossing her arms and looking to the other two girls.

"I dunno, I think Sirius here might be more of a vibrant fuchsia" Lou mused, stroking an imaginary beard in a thoughtful manner. The pair burst into hysterics again when the boy's eyes widened to the size of goblets.

"Uuuh mate, um we should uh get back yknow maybe uhhhh quickly" james stuttered at shallow volume, snapped out of his daze when he noticed a group of cooler 7th years coming towards them.

"He speaks!" Lily called, with Marlene giving a comedic round of applause and lou still rolling around with tears coming out her eyes.

"Oh piss off!" Sirius shouted as he backed away but all he got in response was another fit of ruckus laughter as the girls all witnessed his eyebrows finally turn a vibrant shade of reddish purple.

"Mate!" James called with a bit more urgency.

The two retreating puddles of pink hurried off into the distance with a confused peter still stumbling behind, shouting out for them to wait for him only gaining more attention. Leaving the girls still trying, and failing, to contain their laughter.

Later in the day news spread quickly, the two boys covered head toe and the story of how it happened causing endless amusement all over the castle, the two of them hadn't even turned up to dinner.

"I told you it'd be good! Oh my god, the look on his arrogant face!" Lily had just finished telling the rest of griffindor house the whole story, appropriately exaggerated in her excitement.

"Watch out, anyone listening would never believe you were a prefect" Marlene mocked with a large grin on her face looking over the table at her friend.

"Ah! Fuck the system. Fuck everything. Fuck it. I feel great!" Lily exclaimed, basking in her rare moment of teen rebellion.

Looking over Lou even noticed Remus lupin laughing to himself, despite being best mates with the newly, painfully hot-pink pair.

"- We did break about a thousand school rules though" she heard the red-head add.

"Oh come on! It was hilarious, they deserved it, you were right, be happy!" Lou could never believe how fast Lily Evans could change her mind about something.

"No, you're right, it's not as if they've not done much worse and gotten away with it..." the girl was still slightly put out.

"Im sorry I ever doubted you, lils -" Lou offered up to make her feel a little better about it.

"you should be" lily said instantly.

"- your plan was a roaring success!"

Marlene grinning beside her raised her glass, "To lily, for turning potter and black bright pink!" She exclaimed, a good ten people around them joining her in the toast.

Lily was beaming again, feeling quite proud of herself.

"Well, you know, you guys helped"

"That is true, we did help" Marlene smiled, "anyway pass the mint sauce."

They all continued to tuck in to the Saturday feast, Lou catching out the corner of her eye as Remus tried to sneak a whole steak pie into the pocket of his robes.

Fifth year really was going to be something else.

**authors note: new story, not sure if people are still using this site as much as back in the day but thought i would upload anyway - full disclaimer, things will probably be pretty slow burn for a while but don't worry it will pick up!**


	2. Chapter 2

_Chapter Two: "Why is nobody any good on a broom these days?"_

Lou had been good friends with Marlene and lily since her first night at Hogwarts. She'd met them as soon as she was shown her dorm, made up of the three of them as well as two other girls, Mary and Dorcas. Lily in the earlier years was always very close with Severus Snape from Slytherin, or snivellous as he was now more famously known. This meant that while the two of them had been off doing whatever they did all that time, and Mary and Dorcas went about their own lives, most of Lou's time had been spent with Marlene, sharing the same dark humour and love for music and getting along like the sisters neither of them had ever had but had always imagined.

The two of them also shared an extreme lack of enthusiasm for their academic studies, which set them even further apart from the other girls in their dorm and gave them much more time to themselves.

It was even thanks to Marlene that Lou had tried out to be a chaser on the griffindor quidditch team in her third year, mainly from pressuring her into it, and had surprised everyone including herself when McGonagall had suggested she try playing as seeker.

That was the same year Sirius had become a beater, playing with Amber Jones who was then in her fifth year. james potter had already been a chaser since first year after practicing his whole life up till then with the dream of being the youngest seeker in just under a century, but at that point Fabian prewett had been seeker for three years and was still better than the eleven year old james. Fabian had also been captain of the team for a couple years but had left school, leaving a golden legacy behind him and his younger brother Gideon, the keeper, to pick up the mantle even though he was only in his fifth year back then.

Now, in lou's fifth year, Gideon was still captain and remained keeper, with Lou as seeker and black and jones still beaters. Potter however was the only chaser left standing from the original team and now as he stood staring absolute daggers at Lou across the quidditch pitch she found herself cursing both of her closest friends, Marlene and lily, for ever getting her into any of this mess, quidditch and yesterdays antics above all.

Although most of the pink was gone now there was still a rather obvious purple sheen to their dark hair and a fair amount of pink around their necks and elbows, as well as other places the potion had seemed to remain firmly stuck.

Amber had made a big point of laughing at them as soon as they'd got to the pitch, while Gideon had managed to stifle his amusement enough to give them a stern-ish telling off for being fifteen minutes late, but the large grin across his face pretty much gave him away.

Tryouts were always a pretty stressful time for a team, if they couldn't get the players they needed they risked having to play with less or less skilled players, even more stressful was having to get new players to form part of the meld of the team. It was important they work together and the players they'd had the year before had all been wonderful at it, winning the house cup and, almost more importantly, beating slytherin 310 - 120 in their last match.

As always most of the people who'd turned out for tryouts were only here to see Sirius Black. Granted much more this year to see if him and potter were still bright pink than just the usual swarm blushing and giggling girls trying to show off, but it still got in the way and certainly didn't help Lou, who now had about a dozen thirteen year old girls staring daggers at her, along with potter, and the remainder of the crowd shouting out that she was a 'Legend' and congratulating her, in one big bad mixture.

"Wow, Potter does NOT look happy with you" ambers voice came from beside her. They'd been standing about waiting for the hubbub in the stands and the pitch to die down and Sirius to actually come out of the changing rooms for a while now, but it seemed to just be getting worse.

"Don't see why, it wasn't even my idea" Lou said after a loud sigh.

"-Alright! Oh, for the love of merlin's merkin, if your not even a Griffindor please get out!" They laughed as they heard an exasperated Gideon shout at the group of girls that had formed outside the entrance who were now scuttling away in a huff.

"Hadn't even considered Sirius's admirers as well, caught one of them trying to bewitch my broom to fling me off earlier" Lou absentmindedly stroked the polished wood of the handle comfortingly while saying this. She loved her broom very, very much.

"I wouldn't worry about it, anyone with a mind would have figured out he's only got eyes for Potter by now and given up, probably would've never worked." Lou snickered at the suggestion.

"You have a point there".

"Oi! You lot, stop just standing there, do something useful would you!" Came Gideon's voice from across the pitch.

"What about him?!" Amber shouted back, pointing at James defiantly.

"I'm waiting for Sirius!" He called, matter-of-factly.

"-I meant you too, you woozy git!" Came Gideon's only response.

Begrudgingly the three of them set off to help, with the try-out's coming into the air see if they could score. Potter was instructed the lacklustre job of staying on the ground to make sure the smaller students kept in a line and didn't break anything. This also had the added benefit of giving anyone who was just there to get a good look at him the easy opportunity to do so, and then swiftly leave after he'd threaten to hex them, which seemed to do the trick.

At each end of the pitch Gideon and Amber were playing keeper in-front of their respected set of large golden hoops, Lou had taken to just hovering around in the middle to keep an eye out and watch how each person did, catching the quaffle every now and then when someone threw it way off mark. They were about about ten minutes in when she passed by the stands on her broom and heard a rather loud exclamation along the lines of "oh my god, he looks even fitter with purple hair!" That signalled Sirius had finally finished trying to get his shoes on.

Lou had to say she didn't see it, his usual dark brown locks arguably were much nicer, especially considering how messy his hair was and the bags under his eyes.

She didn't know it but he marauder in question hadn't actually had a good nights sleep in about a month now, at first just from the last few nights of being forced to be around his family and then from staying up into the early hours of the morning with his friends. More than anything else they'd been trying to finish turning into animagi for the first time before the full moon came along, then more recently trying to get rid of the bright pink colour they'd been dyed, but it wasn't exactly a rare occurrence before that anyway. He was always the worst of them at dealing with a lack of sleep, so it was reasonable that he had chosen to power-nap in the changing rooms for as long as he could, using the excuse that he'd tangled his shoelace in a knot and couldn't remember the spell to fix it.

Of course he remembered the bloody spell, who did they think he was?

Lou on the other hand just guessed he was having a bad day, which was understandable. It wasn't that he wasn't still very attractive though, every girl in their year was very much aware of that fact, especially after the Infamous growth spurt of '73, but it was much too predictable to be madly in love with Sirius black these days considering he was practically always surrounded by a gaggle of obsessed pre-teens drooling over him at every turn. It made her feel a bit sick.

Didn't help his ego much either. Lou thought to herself, overhearing yet another crazed girl shout an insult at her as she flew away to hover somewhere else.

Somewhere in the distance Gideon was shouting profanities at some unsuspecting second year at the top of his lungs;

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU'RE IN HUFFLEPUFF? I ASKED YOU LOT TO BLOODY LEAVE!"-

"Bloody hell, looks like fabiean's back with us after all"

Lou was surprised when she heard the familiar, rather tired, gruff voice and turned to see Sirius flying over to her. He was referencing the reign of the last Prewett brother, who'd always been known for his use of the more savoury words in the English language during matches.

"Godric, where'd you come from?"

"Heaven apparently... " He sighed, nodding to a sign a couple of devout second years were holding reading 'WE LUV YOU SIRUS - OUR ANGEL'.

"... Not the worst spelling I suppose" he commented mostly to himself, with one eyebrow raised, "-did you see what that second year just did with the quaffel though? Unbelievable..." Sirius continued, leaned back on his broom with a cool nonchalance, shaking his head, "- who knew quidditch was a dying art?" He added, rhetorically.

"Mmhmm" She hummed in response, looking at him quizzically.

"Oi oi!" Amber came flying towards them while Gideon continued to take out his frustrations on another of the try-outs, "- watcher, Sirius!"

"G'morning" Came Sirius's reply.

"What's up with you two then? Glum and glummer," She asked

"A first year just flipped me the bird" Lou responded simply, a scowl on her face. Sirius laughed, saying something about 'no sleep' in response.

"Yeah well, pretty sure I've found a new chaser, Lauren Mac's little brother"

"He any good?" Lou heard Sirius ask,

"Could do with work, he's a bit jumpy, but you'd expect that after what happened to his parents,"

A cool chill ran down both Sirius and Lou's spines at the mention. Unbeknownst to her Sirius knew what had happened to the Mackenzie's, he'd heard about it through the door to his fathers study two summers ago and the words had stuck in his head to haunt him ever since.

Lou on the other hand was only thinking of her own parents.

As the two beaters continued to talk beside her Lou stopped paying attention. She wasn't having a good day and she'd just noticed group of Slytherins had arrived just to take the mick out of them.

The sky seemed to reflect her mood as well, moody and grim with a feeling in the air like heavy rain was coming.

"Why is nobody any good on a broom these days?" The voice of Sirius black broke her from her thoughts again,

"Got better things to worry 'bout suppose..." she trailed off, noticing Amber had left, leaving just the two of them again.

They hovered in awkward silence for a bit after that. She wasn't really sure why he was talking to her after yesterday. She'd always known james better than Sirius anyway, mainly because they'd been sat next to each other for a year of transfiguration now, after he and Sirius had managed to transfigure Peter into a mound of hair instead of a person and he'd had to be sent to the hospital wing.

Granted, last year her and Sirius had spent the Christmas holidays together in the castle when he'd decided not to go home and they'd been the only two fourth years left, but that was almost a year ago now and they hadn't properly spoken since. He was always with James anyway.

She felt the need to say at least something, so decided she may as well address the elephant in the room;

"Y'know, about yest-"

"Are you ok-"

They both stopped talking after they had started simultaneously, the two of them turning away and blushing a little. Until Sirius motioned for her to go on with a nod.

"Well, erm, I know Potter's all angry at me about yesterday but no hard feelings right? It was just a laugh and Lily's idea anyway, y'know, just a bit of fun?" she said awkwardly.

"Oh yeah that, I reckon whole things a bit polarising for him, he's never really had the piss taken out of him like that before, other than from me and Remus of course"

"So you're fine then?" She didn't quite believe him.

He chuckled, "not really, but james refuses to admit Evans had anything to do with it, thinks it was your's and Mackinnon's idea, it pretty hilarious"

"that's bullshit!"

"Try telling him that"

"Where is he?" She asked, more than ready to argue her case. Lou watched as Sirius's eyes lazily searched the grassy pitch below them looking for his friend.

"Uh, I think he must have gone for a piss so you probably want to hold off on that one for a bit".

"Eh, so what were you saying before?" She asked.

"Oh, I was just gunna' ask if you were alright, after what Amber said you seemed a bit shaken?"

Lou knew full well what he was getting at and didn't like it. She'd been getting stares and questions her whole life about the death of her parents, she'd even been torn apart by the prophet on numerous occasions - 'only living witness of massacre is nine year old child' making the biggest story in decades despite her never even remembering it happen! It didn't help she'd woken up on the wrong side of the bed this morning either, with Marlene trying stick a quill up her nose in her sleep as a joke, and that potions essay she hadn't started.

"If it's all the same to you, I'd rather not talk about it" the venom in her voice was palpable.

"Bloody hell, suit yourself" he mumbled, "not as if you have any reason to be nice to me or anything"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Well y'know, you did dye me pink yesterday, you could at least be a little more polite-" he groaned feeling a bit putout, "god forbid i have your best interests at heart" he added sarcastically.

Sirius wasn't sure what he was doing, he more just felt a bit stupid, he'd come over to make sure she was okay and now she was basically telling him to fuck off and he didn't like that. He had always felt as if him and Lou had some kind of mutual understanding, being the only two people in their wide group of friends who really seemed to know what was going on, what with the war and everything, because of things they'd seen and heard, even if they didn't talk about it. Now he just felt like a dog that had been kicked back into it's place.

"Oh so now it's a big deal? You and I both know that's not the same thing, Black." The stress she put on his last name made her meaning very obvious.

Sirius hissed through his teeth involuntarily but never the less gave a nod. He looked up and noticed as the sky had turned a rather fitting darker grey colour in the clouds.

They stayed in awkward silence again for a little longer until Sirius made to fly off, Lou stopped him,

"Look, Sirius, I'm sorry - I know you're not a bad bloke but you can act a real prick sometimes," her tone was apologetic, although she was sure she had nothing to a apologise for.

"Probably -" he nodded "- I didn't mean anything by it though, I'm not expecting you to bare your soul to me or anything, just thought I'd check you were alright" his tone was surprisingly soft, different from the arrogant drawl he usually spoke with.

"Are any of us alright these days?" She shrugged and laughed darkly, not knowing how else to answer but looking back to him anyway.

the tired teenager hummed grimly in reply, and yawned, before flying away on his broom once and for all.

Later on It had started to rain and the search for a third chaser was just as hopeless as it had been for the past half-hour.

Everyone in the stands had gone back inside from the weather and Lou envied them more than anything, feeling as if the rain was soaking her down to her very bones.

Gideon and Amber seemed to be in some kind of argument on the ground over whether or not she could play as chaser in the next match until they found someone decent. Potter on the other hand was nowhere to be found, but sure enough Lou noticed Sirius when she turned around.

She could not help but watch in awe as Sirius leaned back on his broom with closed eyes about twelve feet off the ground.

If she didn't know any better she'd think he was asleep.

"Sirius?" She called over.

"...huh, what?" He jolted fully awake, opened one eye and squinted at her.

"Don't fall off your broom"

Lou thought she heard him mumble something along the lines of 'illdowhatibloodywellwantmissus' in response and couldn't help but smile to herself. Despite how much of a git he could be.

**Don't want to be doing too many authors notes through this story so you probably won't hear from me this much again but hope you enjoy!**


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